Why do imported food equipment frequently encounter "bottlenecks" during customs clearance?

According to data from the General Administration of Customs in 2024, the rejection rate for food processing equipment products increased by 23% year-on-year, with 74% of the abnormal declarations concentrated in three categories of issues:Missing hygiene license certificate,The equipment material certificate does not match.andIncorrect declaration of old and new status。A company from Jiangsu encountered a 47-day detention of its $1.8 million pasta production line equipment at the port due to the failure to provide heavy metal test reports for the stainless steel components imported from Italy.

The Cost Game Between Professional Agency vs. Self-Customs Declaration

By comparing the customs clearance data in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2023 to 2025, we found that:

• Differences in customs clearance efficiency
  • Professional agency: average 3.8 working days
  • Self-declaration: an average of 9.2 working days
• Probability of additional costs occurring
  • Professional agency: 12%
  • Self-declaration: 67%

Four Steps to Decipher the Professional Proxy Clearance Code

Phase One: Preliminary Equipment Classification and Diagnosis
After the implementation of the new HS Code in 2025, three additional subcategories will be added to the food machinery section. Professional agents can accurately identify key tariff codes such as 8538.10 (thermal processing equipment) or 8438.90 (other food processing machinery) by pre-reviewing equipment drawings and process flow charts.

Phase II: Construction of Technical Documentation Matrix
A certain German bakeryEquipment ImportsThe case shows that the agency needs to prepare:

• EU CE Certification Declaration for Food Contact Materials
• Equipment Energy Consumption Test Report (Compliant with GB 28380 Standard)
• NSF certification for lubricants issued by the original manufacturer

Examples of Handling the 2025 Customs Clearance New Regulations

A Shanghai-based company encountered the following situation when importing low-temperature sterilization equipment from Japan:
Issue:Customs requires a safety certificate for irradiated components.
Solution:The agency coordinates with the Japanese side to issue the JIS B 9910 test report while simultaneously applying for the special goods health quarantine approval, ensuring the port detention time is controlled within 72 hours.

Four-Dimensional Evaluation Model for Proxy Service Selection

• Qualification Dimensions:AEO Advanced Certification + Dual Filing for Mechanical and Electrical Import Qualifications
• Technical Dimension:At least 3 successful import cases (for the same type of equipment).
• Emergency dimension:On-site port coordination response time ≤ 2 hours.
• Cost dimension:Adopt a segmented quotation (pre-arrival costs accounting for ≤40%).

When customs fully implements the "smart image review + risk parameters" supervision model in 2025, the predictive capabilities of professional agents will become the core competitiveness in avoiding clearance delays. Choosing service providers with dynamic database updates can effectively adapt to real-time changes in factors such as equipment classification and inspection standards.